"By the way, Frieren…"
Heiter turned to Frieren with a rare look of seriousness.
"Did we… actually defeat the Demon King in the end?"
"About that…"
Frieren looked troubled, clearly unsure how to respond.
"Hey, Heiter."
Himmel frowned. "Does it really matter what the answer is?"
"Of course it does."
Heiter met Himmel's gaze. "The war between demons and humans has dragged on for so long. Countless heroes known across the world have tried to defeat the Demon King—and not one has succeeded."
"That's true," Eisen added gravely. "Even the Hero of the South couldn't accomplish it."
"Frieren."
Heiter turned to her again. "Even eighty years later, humanity's still locked in that struggle with the demons, right? What I want to know is—did we make a difference in that fight?"
He must have sensed Frieren's hesitation. Rather than ask if they defeated the Demon King, he'd softened the question—was their journey meaningful? Did they contribute to the future?
Even so, Frieren didn't know how to answer.
"So what if we knew the answer?" Himmel spoke again.
"But…"
"Even if we knew for certain that our quest to defeat the Demon King would end in failure… would that stop us from trying?" He swept his gaze across his companions, his face lit by the firelight in a way that made him look every bit the hero. "No matter the outcome—we'll fight on. Because we're the Hero's party."
At his words, Heiter gave a wry smile and let out a long breath.
"You've got a point."
"Let me tell you a story," Aesc said, smiling as a floating book hovered beside her. "There was once a mage who could see the future. To protect the world, he and his allies set out to defeat a great evil bent on its destruction. Before the battle, the mage used his powers to peer into over ten thousand futures. When asked how many paths led to victory, his answer was… just one."
"In the middle of the fight, one of his companions asked him, 'Are we in that one victorious future right now?' And the mage replied, 'If I told you… then we wouldn't be.'"
Aesc smiled gently.
"So maybe knowing the future isn't all it's cracked up to be."
"If Frieren told us we were destined to fail," she continued, "would that make this journey meaningless? Or if she said we'd definitely succeed—what if that made us overconfident, and we lost the final battle because of it? That'd be even worse."
Himmel and Heiter exchanged a glance. Then Himmel turned to Aesc with a smile.
"Did you just come up with that story on the spot because of what we were talking about?"
"Looks like we've got something new to look forward to tonight."
Heiter grinned eagerly. "If there's wine to go with it, even better. Nothing pairs with stories like travel and drink!"
Eisen didn't hesitate to expose him. "You'd drink even if there were no stories. You gluttonous drunk."
Heiter shot back with mock indignation. "But if we weren't traveling and I didn't have Aesc's stories to listen to, I'd be so bored… I'd have to drown my sorrows in booze."
Eisen: "So in other words, you just want another excuse to drink."
Heiter: "Ha. Ha. Ha."
It was all so ordinary.
Over the course of their ten-year journey, conversations like this had happened countless times. Pointless, meaningless chatter.
But watching them again now, Frieren couldn't help but smile.
A warmth blossomed in her chest, like eating a long-lost favorite dish after years of hunger. Something empty inside her finally felt full.
Later, by the riverside, the party took a break to eat and rest.
While Eisen stirred a pot of soup, Himmel turned to Frieren.
"Any ideas on how to get back?"
"Not at all."
Frieren lowered her gaze, visibly disheartened.
"I thought if I touched the Goddess's Stele again, I'd be returned… but that didn't work. I can't even make sense of the spell structure carved into it."
"No surprise there," Heiter said. "It is goddess magic, after all. There are still so many mysteries we haven't solved."
Eisen looked to Aesc. "Do you have any ideas?"
"What, do I look omnipotent to you? I'm not Doraemon."
Aesc gave an exasperated sigh. "Reversing the flow of space-time on a global scale and sending a person into the past… That's not just magic. That's divine authority—quánnéng. The realm of gods. I can't do it… At least, not right now. I don't even understand how it could be done."
"So even Aesc's stumped…" Himmel scratched his chin. "Looks like our new goal is finding a way to send Frieren back to the future."
"If we start from the stele," Heiter added, "maybe we should visit the nearby town. The church or the local mages' guild might have information."
Aesc nodded. "So we're back to intel gathering, huh?"
Eventually, they reached the closest town.
They talked to shopkeepers, a well-read village chief, church clergy, even street vendors.
And came away empty-handed.
…Well, not entirely empty-handed. Heiter drank himself into bliss.
While the others were gathering information at the tavern, Heiter had been drinking non-stop. It wasn't until he passed out on the floor and began interfering with business that the rest had to stop their inquiries and drag his sorry, sloshed body back to the inn.
For the record, Aesc, disgusted by the overwhelming stench of booze, seriously suggested leaving him there.
"That'd affect the shop's business," Himmel said with a strained smile. "Let's at least bring him back."
"In that case, I could use a spell to burn all the alcohol fumes off this drunkard's body. Then we wouldn't need to carry him."
Aesc's face was so deadpan it was impossible to tell if she was joking.
"Please don't," Himmel said, chuckling awkwardly.
...
Northern Plateau.
At that moment, Aesc and the others were exploring a dungeon.
"…Are we really doing this?"
Heiter looked toward Himmel at the front. "Shouldn't our priority be finding a way to get Frieren home? Why are we taking a side quest?"
"Well, that's just how Himmel is," Frieren said with a soft smile. "He always takes the scenic route. No one enjoys an adventure more than him."
Himmel glanced at her, catching that rare smile out of the corner of his eye. He smiled back and shrugged. "I couldn't say no. The kid asked so earnestly… and I wanted to help grant their wish."
They had arrived in a small village in search of leads about the Goddess's Stele.
As before, they came up empty.
Just as they were preparing to leave, a couple approached them with their child.
The couple had once been adventurers themselves, and their child admired the life of an adventurer—especially Himmel, the hero.
"We want to give our child a bit of confidence through our past adventures. But we lost the pocket watch with our old photo inside it when we explored a dungeon. Could you please help us retrieve it?"
Even the child had timidly mumbled, "P-please…"
"…Hard to turn that down," Aesc admitted, rubbing her chin. "That kid was adorable."
"Of course they were," Himmel added, flipping his hair. "They admire me, after all. Though, I am better-looking."
Heiter groaned. "Here he goes again…"
Eisen cut in, "Still, we can't afford to waste too much time. Luckily, this dungeon's already been explored by others. Shouldn't take long to grab the item and continue looking for clues."
"That's assuming Frieren doesn't trigger every trap in the place." Heiter frowned. "Speaking of which—where is she?"
Aesc pointed. "Ten o'clock direction if you're looking for her."
They looked up.
Sure enough, Frieren was crouched in front of a chest, carefully brushing dust off its surface.
"…This magical aura—it might be a grimoire."
"Oh, come on," Heiter groaned, clutching his forehead. "That's clearly a mimic. Who leaves a chest in the open after a dungeon's already been cleared?"
Eisen shot Aesc a questioning look.
Aesc replied, "My mimic detection spell identified it as a mimic."
"There you have it," Heiter said. "Even Aesc agrees."
And yet, despite all reasoning, Frieren remained unmoved.
"Heiter, that spell's only 99% accurate. Which means… there's a 1% chance this chest is real. Everyone else passed it by because they put too much faith in that spell."
"…She's really trusting that 1% chance?"
Heiter wasn't sure if he should admire her tenacity or bemoan her foolishness.
"Don't forget," Frieren added confidently, "I'm from eighty years in the future."
She turned toward them with a proud grin.
"I'm much more dependable than the Frieren you knew—my magic's far more advanced now. I've even taken on a student."
"…Sounds very convincing," Himmel said with a fond smile.
Beaming with confidence, Frieren reached out toward the chest.
Thirty seconds later—
"IT'S SO DARK—! SO SCARY—!!"
"I told you!" Heiter shouted. "I told you!"
"…I actually believed her for a second," Himmel muttered.
Aesc burst out laughing. "Now that's the Frieren I know—ahaha!"
Eisen sighed. "Are you guys really going to just stand there? She's about to get eaten."
They couldn't just attack the mimic outright—doing so might injure the person in its mouth. First, they had to extract her.
Fortunately, they'd dealt with this exact scenario many times before. Too many, in fact.
In short order, they pulled a saliva-covered Frieren from the mimic's mouth and quickly dispatched the so-called "most dangerous creature capable of soloing a millennium-old mage (allegedly)."
"…It's a ridiculously weak monster," Himmel said, exhausted. "So why am I so tired?"
Heiter slumped. "I don't have the energy anymore…"
And the culprit behind it all tilted her head innocently and asked, "What's wrong with you two? Feeling sick? Heiter, did you drink too much again and get punished for it?"
Heiter instantly flared up. "WHOSE FAULT DO YOU THINK THIS IS?!"
According to the client's information, the pocket watch was likely deeper inside the dungeon.
They pushed forward.
Opening a wooden door, the party was greeted by a sight that made their stomachs churn.
Ten treasure chests.
Lined up neatly in a row, like they were waiting for someone to open them.
A strange silence filled the narrow room.
Everyone slowly turned toward Frieren—unsurprised to see her eyes sparkling with excitement, lips curled into a gleeful smile. She looked like an emperor eyeing a line of concubines.
"…I've got a bad feeling about this," Himmel muttered, tugging his cloak closer.
"Same here…" Heiter pushed his glasses up, feigning composure.
"I smell mischief," Aesc murmured, covering her mouth with a graceful hand as her eyes narrowed into delighted crescents.
Eisen's expression remained unreadable—thanks to his massive beard.
Two minutes later, the four of them stood in a circle, staring down at…
Frieren's feet, the only part of her not swallowed by the mimic.
"IT'S SO DARK—! SO SCARY—!!"
This time, no one rushed to save her.
Instead, they turned to look at the other unopened chests.
Eisen muttered, "…Let's just leave this shameful elf here."
Usually, someone would say something to stop him.
But today, both Himmel and Heiter hesitated—speechless for once.